Untitled (Charles), 1985

ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE (1946-1989)

Untitled (Charles), 1985

polaroid print

image: 2 13/16 x 3 3/4 inches (7.1 x 9.5 cm)

overall: 3 5/16 x 4 1/4 inches (8.4 x 10.8 cm)

Executed in 1985.

PROVENANCE:

Charles Bowman, gift from the artist

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) is one of the most influential photographers of the late 20th century and approached the human body with a studied elegance that transcended mere representation. His work balanced eroticism and classicism, rendering flesh, form, and identity with a sculptor’s eye and an unflinching intimacy. Through light, contrast, and compositional precision, Mapplethorpe transformed his subjects into complex beings caught between vulnerability and power. His Torso series exemplifies this duality, presenting the body not simply as subject, but as a form of architecture and emotion.

This polaroid of Charles Bowman, taken during those pivotal Torso sessions, distills Mapplethorpe’s mastery into a frame both restrained and charged with immediacy. Here, Bowman stands nude with his arms lifted behind his head, his figure cropped just at the lower waist. Undeniably suggestive, the image also thoughtfully transforms the models torso into a monument. The image, gifted directly to Bowman, bears the intimacy of exchange between artist and muse. Small in scale yet vast in implication, it is both personal artifact and formal study, a quiet testament to the trust, beauty, and collaboration that shaped Mapplethorpe’s most enduring works.